Pro-Choice Platform Endorses Smith for Pasco County Commission

Kelly Smith is running for the District 2 seat on the Pasco County Commission.

PASCO COUNTY – #VOTEPROCHOICE, a political engagement platform focused on electing pro-choice advocates has endorsed Kelly Smithin the District 2 race for the Pasco County Commission.

#VOTEPROCHOICE is endorsing Smith because of her unwavering support of reproductive rights for all Floridians.

Heidi Sieck, co-founder and CEO of #VOTEPROCHOICE said that pro-choice candidates can win in red or even purple areas.

“Seventy percent of Americans support safe and legal access to abortion,” Sieck said. “That includes areas of Dade City, New Port Richey, Land O’ Lakes and all other areas in Pasco County. We’re identifying these pro-choice voters and mobilizing them to #VOTEPROCHOICE for Kelly Smith.. Smith can win — and voters who support access to essential healthcare services like birth control, and safe, legal, and affordable abortion will turn out to support the campaign.”

Smith said, “Access to a full range of reproductive health care options is key to ensuring economic security for families in Pasco County. The decision whether or when to have a child impacts participation in our workforce, the career advancement, and the overall financial well-being of the people in Pasco. People in our communities should be able to make that decision for themselves and in a way that makes the most sense for their families.”

Since 2016, #VOTEPROCHOICE has worked to elect pro-choice candidates at every level of government. As part of the 2017 resistance movement, #VOTEPROCHOICE endorsed 60 candidates, sent out more than 3 million #VOTEPROCHOICE Voter Guides, texted with more than 200,000 voters to help turn out the pro-choice vote in elections from school board to statewide judicial races. Sixty percent of the platform’s endorsed candidates were elected.

Smith has joined the #ROEvolution, the group’s campaign to elect more than 300 pro-choice champions in 2018.

Smith, an operations coordinator with a Tampa engineering firm, is an advocate of special education who formerly worked as the zoning director for the city of Marco Island. A resident of Wesley Chapel, Smith said she is running “because I care deeply for our community and I am concerned about the future of Pasco County. The current Board of County Commissioners lacks a diversity of ideas and experiences. I am qualified, compassionate, and committed to creating a better Pasco County.”

Smith, a Democrat, is running for the District 2 seat held by incumbent Republican Mike Moore.